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For one thing, head judge Len Goodman is still away (and is missed). Co-host Erin Andrews is also away (she’s off covering the World Series with her day job on Fox). Filling in is sassy Leah Remini, a former contestant who brings a comedic edge to the skybox.

Pitbull opened the show with the pro dancers and then took his place at the judges’ table for DWTS Latin Night. He was surprisingly candid, living up to his name as a snappish dance judge.

Right away we were told Janel Parrish and Val Chmerkovskiy were in jeopardy, which seemed wrong, and so is Jonathan Bennett and Allison Holker, which seemed right. Tommy Chong and Peta Murgatroyd, meanwhile, were not in jeopardy, indicating that a lot of stoners are phoning in votes.

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Jonathan and Allison opened things with a jazz number. “Be you,” she told the young actor and he seemed more relaxed and less bug-eyed this week. Their Men in Black-themed routine was very theatrical. Judge Julianne Hough said it’s the first time she’s really seen Jonathan dance. Bruno Tonioli brayed that the “MAN IN BLACK HAS HIS MOJO BACK!” Remini got everybody to go all bug-eyed in the booth. Scores: straight 8’s for a total of 32.

Next up, Janel and Val doing the samba. Val seemed all twisted during rehearsal, still jealous over Janel dancing with somebody else last week during the switch-up. They ripped it up on the dance floor, although Pitbull of all people told them he didn’t feel the passion (and got booed for his candour). Scores: 8+7+9+9 = 33.

Crowd favourite Tommy Chong was up next, doing a foxtrot with Peta. Their dance was preceded by a weird filmed bit where the pair visited a sweat lodge. Tommy had a vision and started speaking to Cloris Leachman in the sky. It was all very trippy. As for the dance, Tommy is starting to stagger, but the judges still love his shtick. Scores: 7+7+7+7 = 28.

Three more couples were all told they are safe. Then Antonio Sabato, Jr. and Cheryl Burke did the salsa. Cheryl got a call during rehearsal that her dad was in the hospital. He seemed to make a quick recovery and the two went on with their dance. Julianna said it was “too loose and too shoulder-y.” Bruno also wanted them to do better. Up in the booth, saucy Leah tried to get Antonio to take off his shirt. Scores: 7+7+7+7 = 28, keeping them near the bottom of the pack with Tommy and Peta.

Duck Dynasty’s Sadie Robertson danced next with Mark Ballas. The two did a rumba. Sadie worried it was too sexy for her dad in the “Christian values” storyline ABC keeps hammering away at with these two. The judges, especially Pitbull, found it graceful and well-choreographed. Scores: 9+10+8+8 = 35.

Lea Thompson and Artem Chigvintsev danced next, a salsa. Arten got all hissy during rehearsal, telling Lea, “I need amazing — great is not good enough.” Nothing like cranking up the pressure! The dance opened with the duo stepping off a yacht on a seaside, a cool special effect projected onto the dance floor. Artem took his shirt off just for good measure.

The dance was very athletic, with Lea whipped around like a feather boa. Still, Carrie Ann Inaba was a little disappointed. Pitbull got off the line of the night, goofing on Artem by saying, “I didn’t know Jean-Claude Van Damme could dance.” Later there was a “Lea sandwich” up in the booth, which amused host Tom Bergeron. Scores: straight 8’s for a total of 32.

Another three pairs were given their marks and Michael Waltrip and Emma Slater were told they were in jeopardy. No one was surprised. The racecar driver, who had a NASCAR event during rehearsal week, went straight into an Argentine tango. The tango pretty much allowed him to put on a tux and pivot. Scores: 8+7+8+7 = 30.

Next it was tango time for Bethany Mota and Derek Hough. There wasn’t much time to rehearse as Bethany had to go to Australia for a YouTube event. Really? Couldn’t she just Skype that? The two did a straight-ahead tango and Bruno appreciated that it was “PURE BALLROOM.”

Alfonso Ribeiro and Witney Carson seem to dance last a lot. This week they did a salsa, but both were banged up. Witney got dropped during the dress rehearsal and Alfonso pulled a groin the week before. This led to as many groin jokes as ABC will allow. The two danced through the pain and the judges approved, with Carrie Ann giving Alfonzo 10 paddy whacks to match her paddle score. Only Julianne deducted a mark as the judges scored it 10+9+10+10 = 39.

Leah mentioned that Jennifer Lopez was live in studio and Alfonso said it is “special when you get to do booty when booty is in the house.” Bergeron said there’s your drinking game for tonight.

Time for the elimination and it was down to Janel, Jonathan and Michael. Michael and Emma were . . . SAFE! fooling everybody in the ballroom. Which could only mean one thing: Jonathan and Allison were eliminated.

As Bergeron pointed out, it sucks to be eliminated on the night of your best dance, but that’s what can happen under the once-a-week format.

NEXT WEEK: It’s Halloween so look for cool costumes. Even scarier: Len is back.

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